Polgar victorious in JAPFA Classic<\/p>\n
By Ivy Susanti<\/p>\n
SANUR, Bali (JP): Both joy and sadness filled the air when
\nnine world Grand Masters (GM) and one International Master (IM)
\nended their round-robin games at the JAPFA Classic International
\nTournament 2000 at the Grand Bali Beach hotel here on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
GM Judit Polgar of Hungary could not hide her excitement when
\nrival GM Gilberto Milos Jr. of Brazil gave up in 44 moves with
\nthe Sicilian defense. She won the US$56,500 tournament and
\nreceived $20,000 from the total purse.<\/p>\n
Former world champion GM Anatoly Karpov and his successor GM
\nAlexander Khalifman agreed to tie in the 64th move using the
\nPetrov defense. Both Russian players share $8,750.<\/p>\n
At another table, IM Zaw Win Lay of Myanmar also had his day
\nin the sun.<\/p>\n
He ended a series of consecutive defeats and draws when he
\ndefeated GM Jaan Ehlvest of Estonia in the 62th move with the
\nModern defense.<\/p>\n
Indonesian top player GM Utut Adianto drew with GM Yasser
\nSeirawan of the United States in the 21st move using the Queen
\nGambit defense.<\/p>\n
Utut's fellow countryman GM Ruben Gunawan, however, stayed
\ncool despite his loss to GM Jan Timman of the Netherlands in the
\n56th move using the Queen Indian defense.<\/p>\n
Given the results, Judit earned 6.5 Victory Points (VP),
\nfollowed by Karpov and Khalifman with 6 VPs. Milos followed with
\n5.5 VPs and received $5,000.<\/p>\n
Seirawan finishes fifth with 5 VPs and wins $4,000.<\/p>\n
Timman will see his elo rating cut down to 15 points as he
\nonly earned 4 VPs, along with Utut. But Utut will have his elo
\nrating increased five points.<\/p>\n
Both share $2,750.<\/p>\n
Ehlvest finishes eight with 3 VPs. He gets $2,000. Ruben and
\nZaw earn 2.5 VPs each and share $1,250. But Zaw will get an
\nenormous cut in his elo rating.<\/p>\n
State Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mahadi Sinambela
\nclosed the tournament on Tuesday night and immediately opened the
\nJAPFA Classic International Open Tournament 2000, which is
\nattended by 15 GMs and 17 IMs. The tournament will last until May
\n11.<\/p>\n
Competitive<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old Polgar dashed out of the arena and back to her
\nroom with a huge smile on her face after beating Milos. She was
\naccompanied by her boyfriend Gusztav Font.<\/p>\n
She told reporters afterwards that she was satisfied with her
\nperformances because she was able to outshine all of her
\ncompetitors.<\/p>\n
\"I'm satisfied. To win in a tournament certainly gives me a
\ngood feeling. I have been playing against men all of my life but
\nthat isn't the main reason for my happiness. The main reason is
\nthat the tournament is attended by good players, and it's great
\nto win here,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She also added that she benefited from Milos' anxiety.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody plays well but I'm sure that Milos was pretty
\nnervous. He didn't know exactly what he wanted to do and that's
\nbad when you're not sure of yourself.\"<\/p>\n
After the draw, Karpov, who was the FIDE world champion from
\n1975 to 1985, and then again from 1993 to 1999, and Khalifman --
\nthe 1999 FIDE world champion -- slogged back to their rooms and
\nrefused to talk with reporters.<\/p>\n
Zaw said that he was happy with the final results despite a
\ncut in his elo rating.<\/p>\n
He will lose 20 points.<\/p>\n
\"I'm happy although I only won one out of nine games. This is
\nthe first time that I've played in a strong tournament in the
\n16th category,\" he said, adding that he could've tied with
\nEhlvest but the latter made a blunder in the 39th move.<\/p>",
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